Nine News ratings rise despite 60 Minutes scandal
Channel Nine’s evening news programs Nine News at 6:00pm and Nine News at 6:30pm have risen in ratings over the past three months, despite fall-out from 60 Minutes’ failed child abduction operation in April.
While Channel Seven remains ahead in the daily ranks, Channel Nine has seen an increase in viewers since the arrest of the 60 Minutes’ crew in Beirut, Lebanon on April 7.
Across Australia’s five metropolitan cities, Nine News increased its ratings by 485,000 viewers, while Nine News at 6:30pm gained 113,000 viewers during the week of the arrest.
The weeks following saw the news programs plateau before Nine News rose again to 7,297,000 (aggregate across five major cities) in the first week of May, making a total increase of 408,000 viewers since April 7 and bringing the daily average to 1,042,429 viewers.
Even when images of the direct money transfer from Channel 9 to Adam Whittington were released on April 21 the ratings did not drop significantly.
Results showed a 995,143 daily average for Nine News and a 956,600 daily average for Nine News at 6:30pm. This increased to a daily average of 999,571 and 1,025,600, respectively, the following week.
Since the 60 Minutes’ debacle, the ratings have grown on a steady incline – the first week of May achieving the highest ratings for Nine News since the end of February.
Although some, including editor in chief of the The Huffington Post Australia, Tory Maguire, have criticised the 60 Minutes’ crew and Channel Nine, questioning the trustworthiness and ethics of the journalists and station, ratings show that viewers continue to watch the channel’s news programs.
However, Nine’s news programs were not the only shows to experience increases; instead of anticipated falls in audience figures following the arrest of the 60 Minutes crew in Lebanon, the show attracted a total of 849,000 viewers on April 17 – an increase of 155,000 viewers in the week after the arrests.
Although this has dropped back to approximately 750,000 viewers over the past three weeks, audience figures remain similar to those before April 7.
